"Painting is a way to transfer a thought that is too big or too personal to put into words."

                                                                                                       William Reese

As a watercolor painter, I try to capture in my own work what I admire in others – movement, emotion, a sense of place.  Achieving spontaneity and movement is always a goal – sometimes achieved by allowing water the freedom to travel its own path.  A favorite painting may emerge from the edge of chaos or chaos may win out.  To me this unpredictability gives watercolor its unique qualities. I paint many different subjects attracted to the interplay of light, pattern, and human expression.

My work has been exhibited at the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, VA, the Circle Gallery in Annapolis, MD, the Crystal Moll Gallery in Baltimore, the Salmagundi Club in New York, the Pearce Museum in Corsicana, Texas and the Tubac Center of the Arts in Tubac, AZ. I was honored to be included in the online exhibit ‘250 Years of Texas Art’ mounted by the Witte Museum in San Antonio. I am a Signature Member of the Southwestern Watercolor Association, a Signature Member of the Southern Arizona Watercolor Guild, a member of the Arizona Watercolor Association, and an exhibiting member of the Torpedo Factory Art Center.

My subject matter includes the rural back roads of East Texas, the Sonoran Desert of Southern Arizona, the crowded streets of Manhattan, and abandoned relics of industrial America. A Texas native I currently live in Tucson, AZ.  

Ray Goodrow, Recent Awards and Shows

2023

Best in Show, Arizona Aqueous XXXVII, January 6 - February 19, Tubac Center of the Arts, Tubac, AZ.

Margaret Erath Award, People’s Choice Award, 55^th Annual Point Show, March7 – April 1, Southern Arizona Watercolor Guild, Tucson, AZ.

Second Place, Texas Invitational, Feb. 22 – March 23, Pearce Museum of Western Art, Corsicana, TX.

Western Federation of Watercolor Societies 48^th Annual Exhibition, May 6 – June 2, Dallas, TX.

Merchant Award, Arizona Watercolor Association Spring Exhibition, April 5 – May 10, Phoenix, AZ.

Visions Seen in the Air – Celebrating 150 Years of Willa Cather’s Life & Work, May 15 – July 15, Willa Cather Center, Red Cloud Opera House Gallery, Red Cloud, NE.

2022

Texas Invitational, February 24 – March 25, Pearce Museum of Western Art, Corsicana, TX.

Honorable Mention, June Landscape Exhibit, Art League Gallery at the Torpedo Factory Art Center, June 5 - June 30, Alexandria, VA.

Second Place, Southwestern Watercolor Society, 59^th Annual Membership Exhibition, Sept. 5 – Oct. 1,  Dallas, TX.

2021

First Place, “The Show Must Go On,” March 2 – 13, McLean Art Society, McLean, VA.

The Carolyn Zakaski Memorial Watercolor Award, June Landscape Exhibit, June 10 – July 3, Torpedo Factory Art Center, Alexandria, VA.

2021 Mid-Atlantic Regional Watercolor Exhibition, June 12 – July 31, Baltimore Watercolor Society, Online Exhibition.

Award of Merit, “American Landscapes,” August 25 – September 18, Maryland Federation of Art, Circle Gallery, Annapolis, MD.

Southwestern Watercolor Society, 58^th Annual Membership Exhibition, September 1 – October 3. Blue House Too Gallery, Dallas, TX.

Second Place, “The Eye of the Beholder,” McLean Art Society, November 12, 13, 14, McLean, VA.